


Puppies, Proposals, and the Perfect Life

by gaymiens



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Dangan Ronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc
Genre: Alternate Universe - Non-Despair (Dangan Ronpa), M/M, commission, domestic AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-19
Updated: 2018-02-19
Packaged: 2019-03-21 07:07:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,056
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13735722
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gaymiens/pseuds/gaymiens
Summary: It's the anniversary of Daiya's death, and Kiyotaka Ishimaru is determined to make sure that his boyfriend does not feel bad about it this year!And when he sees the cutest puppy in a petshop window, Kiyotaka knows the perfect way to do it.[COMMISSION PIECE FOR NENE-KAGUYA ON TUMBLR]





	1. How Much for that Puppy in the Window?

All things considered, Mondo hadn't expected his life to turn out so well. 

 

He was a loser, a dropout, a delinquent. He was a free spirit, living by his own rules, a rebel who’s bite was definitely worse than his bark. Mondo had never really considered that his life would amount to much. He always expected that he'd die in some ditch by the side of the road at twenty five, motorcycle a blazing wreck beside him. After Daiya’s accident, that future had become a lot more tangible. Mondo hadn't bothered with building up towards any ambition. He never thought there was any chance he could reach them. 

 

That was, until he met Kiyotaka. 

 

If someone could go back in time and tell 17 year old Mondo that, come ten years, he'd be living with the love of his life, with a steady carpenter’s job and a house that he built himself, he'd call you crazy. Tell him that said love of his life was the annoying hall monitor in his class, and he’d have punched you in the face. But here he was, cuddled against his still-sleeping boyfriend, internally debating if it would be worth waking Kiyotaka up by kissing his forehead. 

 

It was rare for Mondo to wake up earlier that Kiyotaka- usually it was him still snoozing away an hour after his boyfriend had risen to go to work. Kiyotaka, unlike Mondo, hadn't really changed over the years. Sure, he'd matured plenty- he wasn't quite as naïve as he'd been at 17, or as oblivious to social situations. In actuality, he'd turned out quite charismatic. But nothing major had altered- he was still a stickler for the rules, still had the same adorable laugh that sounded far too exaggerated to be real, still maintained a strict schedule and rarely differed from it. He was still the nerd that Mondo had fallen head over heels for. 

 

But Mondo had been jolted awake early in the morning by a nightmare- he wasn't quite away from the horrors of the accident. He was working on it with his therapist, but PTSD and survivor’s guilt was still a bitch to kick. But now, twenty minutes after his adrenalin had faded and his heart rate had settled down, he was glad for the nightmare. He loved the rare moments he could spot Kiyotaka asleep- he always looked so peaceful, all the tension drained out of his face. His regular expression of pure intensity had been replaced by a calm slackness. Mondo and Kiyotaka had started off sleeping on opposite sides of the bed, but somehow in their sleep they had both managed to shuffle over to the centre of the bed. Kiyotaka’s legs were tangled in his, and his steady breath was hot against Mondo’s face. 

 

Daring to take the chance, Mondo pressed a quick kiss to Kiyotaka’s forehead. The digital clock on his bedside table told him it was 5:20 already, which was ten minutes before Kiyotaka would wake up anyway. It wouldn't be the end of the world for his sleep schedule if Mondo managed to wake him up just a  _ little  _ bit early. 

 

Suure enough, Kiyotaka began to squirm slightly under the press of Mondo’s lips, gradually opening his eyes and blinking away the sleep. He still looked vaguely dazed, still stuck in the transition between sleep and consciousness. Once he managed to focus on Mondo, a lazy smile started to spread on his face. Mondo knew he had about thirty seconds to admire said smile before Kiyotaka jumped out of bed and started on his morning schedule. 

 

“Hey, Kiyo?” Mondo asked, reaching up to brush the back of his hand against Kiyotaka’s cheek, “I fuckin’ love you, ya know that?”

 

“Of course I know that, Mondo…” Kiyotaka mumbled, leaning in to give him a quick peck on the lips, “I love you too. Now…” Oh boy, here it comes. Kiyotaka suddenly sat up straight in his bed, stretching once, before clambering out of it. He grabbed his glasses from the bedside table, sliding them on and squinting at the clock.

 

“...You woke me up early.” 

 

“Yeah,” Mondo simply replied, deciding to sit up himself. His boyfriend looked momentarily confused, before breaking out into a slightly giddy grin. 

 

“So you finally decided to fix your sleeping schedule! Mondo, I’m so proud of you! Now we can get so much more  _ done  _ in the mornings, and you won’t be up late working on your commissions-” Kiyotaka began rambling, before the realisation (ironically enough) seemed to hit him like a truck, “...oh. You woke up because of a nightmare again, didn’t know?” Mondo sighed. He hated seeing Kiyotaka worried over him, and now the beautiful grin from earlier had faded into a concerned frown. 

 

“It wasn’t a big deal this time, trust me. I was only up for like… twenty minutes before I woke you up. I’m fine.”

 

“Are you sure? Because we can move your appointment up if you’re having troubles again. I know it’s getting closer to the… anniversary…” Kiyotaka winced at his words, looking at Mondo as if he’d burst into tears at the mention of Daiya’s anniversary. Kiyotaka  _ knew  _ Mondo was getting better, but sometimes he still fussed over him like they were still teenagers. As cute as it was, it was also kind of annoying. Mondo knew he had no ill will, though, so he brushed it off.

 

“I’m fine. I normally get a little shittier at handlin’ shit around this time but… it’s been twelve years, Kiyo. I’m gettin’ way better at dealin’ with it,” Mondo swung his legs around the side of the bed, debating if he should get out or just go back to sleep. Both options seemed quite tempting- if he left the bed now, he could go and spend the morning with Kiyotaka, a rare luxury. On the other hand, he’d only had five hours of sleep, and there was always the chance he’d pass out in a chair somewhere if he didn’t get some extra shuteye now. 

 

Luckily, as always, Kiyotaka managed to come to the rescue. “Look, Mondo… I’m so proud of you, again, for coming so far! But you should still take it easy, especially this week… how about you get some extra rest? I only have half a day’s work today, anyway, so I can come home early and we can go and get lunch together… a late lunch, but still lunch!” 

 

The offer, while on the surface, would seem pretty normal. But Mondo knew how much Kiyotaka valued his schedule, how he’d have preferred to have his pre-packed lunch at noon, and then spend the rest of the day working with unpaid overtime… To offer to cut his workday in half, on top of changing his schedule specifically so he could spend more time with Mondo… it was a pretty touching offer. For a nerd like Kiyotaka, that was.

 

“You don’t have to!” Mondo clarified, “I’m fine, Kiyotaka. Trust me, I am.”

 

“I’m- I’m offering this because I  _ want  _ to! We haven’t had much couple time recently, and I think I’m mostly to blame for that… so this will be fun! For  _ both  _ of us!” Kiyotaka assured Mondo, striding over to the wardrobe and starting to get changed into his work outfit, “So… do  _ you  _ want to do it?”

 

“Of course I fuckin’ do! Who would turn down time with you, Kiyo?” Mondo swore he could see the tips of Kiyotaka’s ears turn red, and he chuckled softly to himself.

 

“Then it’s settled! You get some more rest, and then we can go out for a… a  _ date _ !” Kiyotaka turned to face Mondo again, halfway buttoning up his shirt, and gave him the same grin from earlier. Mondo felt a part of him melt inside, just like he was a teen again on his first date. God, would Kiyotaka ever stop Mondo from feeling like a sappy, lovestruck loser? Apparently not. 

 

He wouldn’t have it any other way. 

 

“Lookin’ forward to it, babe…” Mondo mumbled, sliding back under the covers. He could already feel himself getting a little drowsy… the warm embrace of the sheets pulling him back into the depths of sleep.

 

This time, he only dreamt of Kiyotaka.

 

* * *

 

Kiyotaka was  _ committed  _ to giving Mondo the perfect date today.

 

It was a week before the anniversary of Daiya’s death, and Kiyotaka was going to try his hardest to scrub away those bad memories, and make sure Mondo never had another one of those awful nightmares again!

 

...Okay, maybe that was a little bit of a steep goal to reach. Still, Kiyotaka hadn’t gotten where he’d gotten for lack of trying. Sure, he’d always imagined that he’d be Prime Minister by now, but retrospectively, it was a bit odd to assume that he’d be able to become the youngest Prime Minister in the entirety of Japan’s history. That wasn’t to say he wasn’t on the track towards it, though- he’d managed to get elected into the House of Representatives, despite the stigma attached to his name (and his young age). All things considered, he was doing quite well!

 

Certainly, he deserved to have half a day off. Especially since it was to treat his boyfriend to a nice treat.

 

A nice treat that… Kiyotaka actually had no plan for.

 

It had been a spur-of-the-moment decision to invite Mondo out for a date, and now Kiyotaka had absolutely no idea where they should go. They could try going to the nice (cheap) ramen place down the road, but that somehow didn’t seem… fancy enough. Sure, the food was nice, but Mondo would have probably gone there  _ anyway  _ just to get some take away lunch. No, Kiyotaka needed something better… something that would  _ definitely  _ cheer Mondo up, for the entire week!

 

Oh, why hadn’t he pre-planned this? Now he only had a handful of hours to plan the  _ perfect  _ date for him and Mondo, and most of that time had to be spent working! What if one of his co-workers caught him slacking off? He’d have to explain  _ why  _ he was distracted, and that would lead into some prying questions about his sexuality and love life that he would very much prefer to avoid.

 

It was better to just pick something as soon as possible, so he wouldn’t have to deal with it at the absolute last moment. 

 

He remembered that Mondo had mentioned something about craving sushi a while back… he wasn’t quite sure if Mondo would still be up for it, but it was a start! He was sure he could find some nice sushi restaurant somewhere, and then everything would be taken care of! Determined, Kiyotaka quickly typed in ‘nice sushi restaurant in chiyoda ward’, browsing through the results. They seemed promising enough, and Kiyotaka wasted no time picking the one with the highest rating (even if it was a little bit more expensive than he’d usually go for). 

 

So it was settled! He’d picked a nice place to have lunch with Mondo, and maybe he could surprise him with a bouquet of flowers before the date began… it would be just the sort of romantic gesture that’d been lacking from their relationship for a while. Kiyotaka knew it would be slightly cheesy, and he wasn’t the same lovesick teenager who’d spend hours picking flowers from the community gardens to give to Mondo, but it would still be… nice. 

 

Kiyotaka couldn’t help but smile to himself, as he googled for nearby florists. He knew that this outing was intended to help  _ Mondo…  _ but he felt it could do  _ him  _ a whole lot of help as well. Try as he might, even the absence of rigid schoolwork hadn’t quelled Kiyotaka’s strict attitude towards his workload, even if it got in the way of really  _ enjoying  _ his relationship with Mondo. He’d worked overtime one too many times, and now he’d finally be able to relax, even if it was just for an afternoon!

 

Kiyotaka returned back to his work, his satisfied grin sticking to his face. In what seems like no time at all, the day flew by, and the little alarm set on Kiyotaka’s phone indicated that it was time to leave work and begin preparing his and Mondo’s date!

 

His co-workers looked downright  _ concerned  _ when they saw Kiyotaka leave at the time he was  _ supposed  _ to, but Kiyotaka would just have to explain why he was doing that  _ later!  _ For now, he had a date to attend! ...And a florist to attend first. It was a small shop not too far from Kiyotaka’s workplace, but the images on their website had looked  _ very  _ appealing, and it was a cheaper shop as well! Kiyotaka didn’t mind spending the extra money for the sushi place, but he still liked to cut corners where he could. 

 

A bell jangled when Kiyotaka stepped inside the store, a friendly-looking worker at the register giving Kiyotaka a little wave as they saw him. Kiyotaka smiled back, heading towards the isles of flowers to peruse them. Let’s see… Mondo wouldn’t want anything  _ too  _ ‘girly’, especially not around  _ this  _ time of year… maybe Kiyotaka should get him something simple, but still uplifting, like sunflowers! Alternatively, he could just go with the standard red roses one would expect from a romantic partner… argh! There were too many choices!

 

“Um… do you need any help, sir?” the cashier asked, stepping out from behind his counter to walk over to Kiyotaka. Shamefully, he nodded. He was never going to get anywhere if he spent all his time worrying over the  _ flowers!  _

 

Eventually, and with the florist’s help, Kiyotaka managed to select an appropriate bouquet: bright purple orchids dominated the arrangement, with small rosebuds hidden between them. It was… a tad bit more expensive that Kiyotaka had bargained for, but he wasn’t going to worry about that! At least it was cheaper than some of the  _ other  _ florists he’d been looking at. Carrying the flowers in one hand and his briefcase in the other, Kiyotaka stepped out of the shop…

 

And stared directly into the front of a pet shop.

 

Normally, Kiyotaka would dismiss this. He had no plan on getting a pet, and no time to bother browsing a store he’d never need to browse. But… in the window, tucked into a small display cage, was the  _ cutest  _ little maltese puppy Kiyotaka had ever seen. 

 

It was white, and fluffy, and bounding around its little box without a care in the world. Normally, Kiyotaka would resist the urge to go and look at it… but this was the anniversary of one of the worst nights in Mondo’s life. Second only to the time that he lost Chuck… his old  _ maltese  _ puppy… 

 

Without really thinking about it, Kiyotaka had crossed the road and entered the pet shop. It was already crowded with a group of high school girls who had huddled around the display box containing kittens. Kiyotaka headed straight to the dog he’d seen in the window, and made a positively  _ embarrassing  _ noise of surprise when it jumped up to look at him. 

 

Mondo would love him so much if he bought him this puppy… but no! It would be too much hard work, and he’d have to buy so much equipment, not to mention the time they’d have to put in to training… 

 

“I see you’re a fan of Chuck, huh?” the shopkeeper asked, startling Kiyotaka out of his thoughts.

 

“Um, yes- wait,  _ Chuck?! _ ” That… that couldn’t be a coincidence, could it?! There was no way! Nothing that… nothing that  _ perfect  _ would just happen naturally! Was he dreaming?!

 

“Yup! Well, actually, her full name’s Charlie, but we like to call her Chuck around here. She’s a bit of a tomboy, so…” the shopkeeper continued, reaching down into the box to pull the small maltese out of it, “You can hold her, if you like!”

 

Wordlessly, Kiyotaka took the dog-  _ Chuck _ , out of the shopkeeper’s hands. She squirmed slightly in his arms, before reaching up to lick his face a few good times. Kiyotaka knew he should pull her away from him, knew that dog spit was  _ highly  _ unhygenic and he’d have to wash his face before the date now, knew that he couldn’t risk getting too attached to her… 

 

But he couldn’t resist. He couldn’t deny that this was the best present he could ever get Mondo. Their apartment was a pet-friendly one, and only a few weeks ago Kiyotaka had caught Mondo looking at pictures of malteses on his computer at 3am. Nothing would cheer Mondo up more in this horrible time than to be able to raise a dog again. 

 

“...How much is she?” Kiyotaka asked, and with that, he sealed his fate.

 

Walking out of the pet store was harder now that he had to juggle carrying a carrier with a dog in it, a food bowl, a leash, a few toys,  _ and  _ the bouquet, but he managed. He  _ did  _ have to call a taxi, though… but at this point, he’d already booked a place in a fancy restaurant, bought an expensive bouquet, and adopted a freaking  _ dog _ , so the extra cost was pitiable. Kiyotaka just thanked the stars that he actually had a  _ well-paying job.  _ If he had still been in the same situation as he was when he  _ first  _ started dating Mondo, he would have just put his family’s bank account into the negatives. 

 

As Kiyotaka pulled into the restaurant, he texted Mondo to let him know where they’d be eating, and then began the struggle of balancing everything again. Eventually he decided to just  _ put  _ the dog supplies in the carrier along with Chuck, because that way he could safely carry the bouquet without squashing it… ah, the things he did for Mondo Oowada!

 

But… Kiyotaka still felt giddily happy. Even though he had to pay thousands of dollars in one day, and had disrupted his precious schedule, and had struggled with an  _ extremely  _ heavy dog carrier for the ten minutes it took for him to be seated… he still felt happy. Happy that he could make Mondo, the light of his life, even the tiniest bit happier today.

 

And so, Kiyotaka waited for Mondo to arrive, his heart filled with nothing but love. 


	2. A Perfect Life Together

Mondo was a bit confused by the venue Kiyotaka had texted him to meet at.

 

It was way more high-end than their usual place, and to be honest… Mondo felt a little bad about it. Kiyotaka was doing so much for him, even though he didn’t have to… Mondo knew that Kiyotaka liked to be a little more conservative when it came to cash- which was understandable. Despite the two of them bringing home quite impressive salaries (well, Kiyotaka more than Mondo, but still), Mondo knew from experience that childhood instincts were hard to quash.

 

In return, Mondo had at least  _ tried  _ to look classy for this date. He’d actually styled his hair today, instead of just throwing it into a ponytail had calling it a day. Sure, he wasn’t going to go for his  _ original style  _ (which was a relief, as age had wizened Mondo up to the fact that he’d looked like a complete  _ idiot _ in high school), but he still bothered to blow dry it and put a little product in. 

 

He’d taken a bit longer than he’d like to admit to pick out a good set of clothes to wear. He wasn’t used to this stuff! Back when they were teenagers, he’d just thrown on his gang coat and gone out to whatever hole-in-the-wall diner the two of them could afford. Once they moved in with each other, there wasn’t really much use dressing up to go somewhere fancy when they could just cook from home, or get takeout… man, it really  _ had  _ been a long time since they’d gone out somewhere nice. 

 

Mondo eventually settled on a nice button-down shirt, something he’d found stuffed in the back of his closet, and some jeans. Nothing too fancy, but still kind of… classy, he guessed. He hoped Kiyotaka would be impressed. Stepping out of their apartment, Mondo groaned when he realised that he’d have to mess up his hair in a helmet if he wanted to ride his bike to the restaurant. Damn it… he groaned, putting the helmet on anyway. He didn’t want to risk being late if he took public transport… 

 

The ride there was uneventful, and Mondo got to spend a few minutes awkwardly fixing his hair in the reflection of a glass window before he stepped inside the restaurant. Once his hair was reasonably tamed, he entered, scanning the room for any sign of Kiyotaka. 

 

Quickly spotting the familiar patch of clean-clipped brown hair, Mondo made his way over, only to get stopped by a waitress. She turned to look to Kiyotaka, and then back to Mondo, and furrowed her eyebrows.

 

“Ah… I’m sorry, but that table’s taken! The customer stated they were reserving it for a date, so I’m afraid we’ll have to seat you elsewhere,” she stated, bowing her head slightly. Mondo turned bright red.

 

Ah, shit, he hated having to explain this stuff… Even though things had gotten  _ far  _ more progressive lately, it still came as a huge shock to people when they found out  _ Mondo  _ was dating  _ Kiyotaka.  _ Especially since Mondo wasn’t the best at responding when he was embarrassed, or under pressure, and usually ended up yelling at them. He took a deep breath, trying to collect himself, before shooting the waitress an awkward smile.

 

“Uh… actually, I, uh. I’m his… boyfriend, so,” Mondo mumbled, scratching the back of his neck as his face got warmer. The waitress gasped, instantly apologetic, and led Mondo towards the table.

 

“Oh my gosh, sir, I’m sorry! I just- sorry! I’ll get your menus right away!” she stuttered, before practically sprinting away to grab the menus. Kiyotaka raised a questioning eyebrow as Mondo slid into his seat, giving him a classic “what-was-that-for?” look. 

 

“...Hey, Taka… uh… she just…” Mondo ran a hand through his hair, groaning, “She thought that, uh- you know, that we weren’t dating, so I had to  _ tell  _ her, and-” Kiyotaka’s glare instantly softened, and he brought over a hand to hold Mondo’s over the table.

 

“I’m sorry you had to go through that, Mondo! I know you, um… aren’t the most comfortable in situations like that…”

 

“How the hell d’ya do it, Taka? Whenever you say that we’re… y’know, dating, you’re always so  _ confident  _ about it!”

 

“I just think that there’s nothing wrong with dating such a wonderful man!” Kiyotaka gushed, and Mondo’s blush deepened  _ yet again _ , “That, and my job centers around talking to people. It’s easy to act confident when you practise it every day! Gosh, imagine what would happen if I sounded  _ unsure  _ in a press conference, especially with the budget how it is these days… the media would eat me alive!” 

 

Kiyotaka continued rambling about his job, and Mondo let himself relax. This was normal. This was nice. Just him, and Kiyotaka, at a nice restaurant, and a suspiciously shaped box on the floor next to Kiyotaka…

 

Wait, what was that last part?!

 

“Uh, Taka?” Mondo interrupted, stopping Kiyotaka in the middle of his speech about the progress of sorting out budget reform, “What the  _ hell  _ is that?” 

 

“Language, Mondo!” Kiyotaka chastised, but winced at the question. He leant over, bringing the…  _ pet carrier(?!) _ onto his lap, letting Mondo take a good look at it’s contents, “I… may have decided to buy you a gift, earlier today…”

 

Inside the carrier was  _ the most  _ adorable dog Mondo had ever seen. It was a maltese, just like chuck, and was sticking her tongue out as it slept. Instinctively, Mondo started to squeal, before covering his mouth with his hand and looking at Kiyotaka with tear-filled eyes. He couldn’t believe this, this was a dream come true! A new dog, just for him and Kiyotaka- and it was so  _ cute,  _ Mondo didn’t know how to deal with this- oh my god, he needed to kiss Kiyotaka right  _ now.  _

 

Mondo leant over, pulling Kiyotaka into a kiss. Kiyotaka spluttered, pulling away, with a strong blush on his cheeks. Normally, Mondo would apologise for being so sudden, especially in public, but he wasn’t exactly thinking straight. He had a new  _ dog!  _ He didn’t have time to worry about social conventions-

 

“Um… excuse me, sirs, I- uh, your m-menu is here!” the waitress stuttered, sliding two menus over to Mondo and Kiyotaka. Mondo jumped away from his boyfriend, burying his face in his hands. God,  _ that  _ was embarrassing… but he wouldn’t let it ruin his day. He had a  _ dog.  _ A dog! 

 

“Mondo, I- um, sorry for not telling you earlier! I should have known you would get excited…”

 

“Excited?!” Mondo ripped his hands away from his face, looking at Kiyotaka with starry eyes, “I’m more than excited! What’s- is it a boy or a girl?! What’s its name?! It’s a maltese, right?!” Kiyotaka blinked at confusion at the sudden onslaught of questions, trying to get his answers in order.

 

“Um, she’s a girl… and her name’s Charlie, although her nickname is Chuck!”

 

“ _ CHUCK?! _ ”

 

“Strange coincidence, isn’t it?!” Kiyotaka clapped his hands together, beaming, “That’s why I bought her… I just… I couldn’t pass this up! And, I must admit, she charmed me a fair bit too…” 

 

Mondo stuck his finger through the bars of the carrier, petting  _ Chuck’s  _ soft fur. This… this really was perfect. God, he loved Kiyotaka so much… 

 

“I can’t believe I’m a dad now…” Mondo mumbled, wiping a tear from his eyes. Kiyotaka laughed, heartily, watching with adoration as Mondo continued petting Chuck. Eventually, she woke up, licking his finger, and Mondo hand to cover his mouth again to stop him from making an embarrassing, totally un-manly noise. 

 

“Well, I wouldn’t exactly put it like that… but if that makes you happy- um, I guess I’m a dad too! I never really thought about it that way…” Kiyotaka placed a hand on the carrier’s handle, before continuing, “I do need to put Chuck away for now, I’m not entirely sure they even  _ let  _ pets inside this restaurant-”

 

“Oh, we don’t usually, but this is fine!” the waitress chirped up, “You two are so cute together!” Mondo and Kiyotaka whirled around to face her, and she turned red, “I m-mean, that’s probably an odd thing for me to say, isn’t it… I’ll, um- just call me over when you’re ready to order!” She quickly scampered away into the kitchen, nearly knocking over another waitress on her way.

 

“Well, that was fuckin’ weird,” Mondo groaned, and Kiyotaka frowned at him.

 

“Don’t swear in front of our child, Mondo!” 

 

* * *

 

Adjusting to homelife with a dog had been a bit trickier than Mondo had expected. His memories of Chuck had been rose-tinted, his eight-year-old brain making everything seem so much  _ fun _ … and it wasn’t like  _ this  _ Chuck wasn’t  _ also  _ fun, but she was just… a lot of work.

 

It was good work, though. It kept Mondo’s mind busy,  _ and  _ he got to look at a cute dog whilst he did it! Even though sometimes he had to clean up her mess because she got too excited and peed in the hallway, or because she decided that  _ three in the morning  _ was the perfect time to go out and have a nice walk…

 

Kiyotaka was a lot of help, though. There wasn’t a day where Kiyotaka wasn’t ready to go and give it his all when training Chuck, even when he had more important things he could have been attending to. Ever since they’d brought her home, Kiyotaka had practically been smitten with her, and it like a dream come true to Mondo. Seeing his cute dog and his cute boyfriend playing fetch together was one of the best moments of Mondo’s life, second only to the day Kiyotaka asked him out, or the day Kiyotaka finally got elected into the Diet, or the day that Kiyotaka…

  
...Well, that was a pattern. It seemed like Kiyotaka just made everything better. God, Mondo really couldn’t have wished for a better boyfriend… he needed to do something nice to make up for the wonderful day Kiyotaka had organised for him. He’d been planning it for a few weeks now, trying to get everything perfect- and considering Mondo’s fairly poor work drive (especially when compared to his boyfriend’s), this was quite the feat.

 

While he knew it still wasn’t technically legal, Mondo was planning to propose to Kiyotaka.

 

They wouldn’t be able to get married, not officially, but they could still hold a ceremony. And Mondo could get his name changed to pick up Kiyotaka’s surname, because hell if he was going to let Kiyotaka rub away everything he’d done for his family by changing his name to  _ Kiyotaka Oowada.  _ Mondo Ishimaru sounded much better, after all… god, just thinking about it was enough to make Mondo giddy. 

 

But he couldn’t be too obvious about it. He’d been able to get the ring and everything without any problem… all he needed now was a good place to propose. He considered returning to the restaurant again, but he wasn’t sure if that overly-nosy waitress would still be there, and he didn’t want her ruining the moment. If he tried to book anywhere fancier, Kiyotaka was sure to get suspicious… after all, Mondo’s ideal meal still stuck strongly to “fast food on the couch watching sitcoms”. 

 

The idea came to him when he was out walking Chuck, during one of her rare “I want a walk and it isn’t in the middle of the night” moods. Kiyotaka would want something simple, something intimate, something romantic… he wouldn’t want a huge crowd around him, because he got nervous easily… Mondo dwelled on his thoughts, absentmindedly walking into the park, and sitting down on a bench. 

 

Wait.

 

The park! Of course! He could go walk Chuck in the evening, where not many people would come around here… and he could invite Kiyotaka, and then pop the question. It would be perfect. Romantic, without being too cheesy, and it would be only the two of them, so there wouldn’t be much pressure. He just needed to scope out the perfect spot to actually  _ propose  _ at… 

 

After a bit of searching, Mondo settled on a nice place in front of a fountain. It had a good atmosphere, and he could always tie Chuck to a nearby light pole in case she tried to run away during the proposal. Mondo felt a small knot of excitement build inside of him, and he pumped the air with his fist. This was going to be the best proposal  _ ever!  _

 

...If he could actually build up the  _ courage  _ to ask Kiyotaka! 

 

The two of them agreed to go out for a walk with Chuck, at a time where not many people would be around, and Mondo had stuffed the ring box into his pocket on the way out. It was the perfect time, the perfect setting, the perfect moment… but Mondo still couldn’t get on his knees and  _ ask Kiyotaka the damn question! _

 

Chuck was helping, though… it was like she could sense Mondo’s anxiety, and had been running around him, trying to get him to go and play with her to calm down. Kiyotaka smiled, sipping on the cup of coffee he’d bought from the store across the street.

 

“I don’t know what’s gotten her so riled up, but you should go play with her!” he suggested, “You  _ did  _ remember to bring the frisbee, didn’t you?”   
  


“I, uh…” No, he hadn’t! Because he’d been too preoccupied with making sure he didn’t forget the ring,  _ damn it!  _

 

“It’s alright if you forgot, I know owning a dog can be hard to adjust to… well, it’s certainly been very tricky for me to remember everything, at least… Mondo? Are you okay? You’re looking very pale.”

 

“I’m fine!” Mondo shouted, showing Kiyotaka that he was clearly  _ very not-fine.  _

 

Kiyotaka frowned, placing down the coffee on a nearby bench. “Mondo, don’t lie to me! You look sick! Did you catch something at work today?”

 

“I told ya, I’m fine- I, uh-” Well, it was now or never. Mondo needed to get this over and done with before he made an even  _ bigger  _ fool out of himself…

 

Getting down on one knee, Mondo fumbled with his coat pockets, trying to find the one he’d stuffed the ring box in. Kiyotaka looked at him with concern, evidently not getting the point yet. Chuck sniffed at Mondo’s leg, and he reached down to pet her with one hand,  _ finally  _ finding the damn thing with the other. 

 

“Can, uh… can you take Chuck for a moment?” Mondo asked, and Kiyotaka nodded, allowing Mondo to pass the leash to him. As soon as he had Chuck secured, Mondo pulled out the box, watching Kiyotaka’s expression change from mild confusion to unbridled joy.

 

“Kiyotaka Ishimaru, you are the-” Mondo began, only to have his speech cut off by Ishimaru shouting his answer out loud.

 

“Yes! Yes, Mondo, I- yes!”

 

“I’m not finished yet!” Mondo cried, “C’mon, Taka, I had a whole speech planned out, ya can’t just-”

 

“Sorry, Mondo, I- oh my gosh, I can’t believe this is- yes! Um, carry on!”

 

“As I was saying…” Mondo began, smiling softly at Kiyotaka, “Kiyotaka Ishimaru, you are the most wonderful man in my life. You’ve made every day with me fuckin’ incredible, and I’d never be where I am now without you. You give me motivation to keep goin’, even when everything seems like it’s going to shit… and, I… I really love you. I know that this ain’t legal, and we can’t have an official ceremony, but… will you marry me?”

 

Kiyotaka didn’t respond immediately, instead tacking Mondo to the ground and covering his face in kisses. He pulled away, grinning at Mondo with an expression of pure euphoria, and allowed Mondo to slide a ring onto his finger. Chuck trotted over, joining in the pile by licking Kiyotaka on the side of the face, causing them both to laugh. 

 

Kiyotaka stood up first, holding out his hand for Mondo to pull himself up as well. He then wasted no time before wrapping Mondo in a tight hug, burying his face in Mondo’s neck.

 

“Mondo, I… I would be completely honoured to marry you. And, well… you never know! I am a politician, after all, and I’m not going to stop trying until we  _ can  _ get married! I love you so much, and I just- thank you!” 

 

The two of them stayed like that for a couple more minutes, before Chuck’s impatient tugging forced them apart. Kiyotaka laughed as she pulled against the leash, evidently deciding that the squirrel on the other side of the park was more important than her dads getting engaged. 

 

“I was, uh… I was thinking we could have our wedding on the anniversary of our acceptance into Hope’s Peak. I thought you’d like that… plus, it’s all symbolic and shit, right?” Mondo suggested, and Kiyotaka nodded.

 

“That would be great, Mondo! I… thank you so much for this, again! I can’t wait- even if that means we’ll have to get preparations underway pretty soon, as we only have less than a year before that date- and we won’t exactly have any dress shopping to do, or bridal showers, but there’s  _ still  _ a lot we should be considering- oh, and who are going to be our best men? I mean, you’ll probably choose Yukimaru-kun, but I’m not so sure about me…”

 

Letting Kiyotaka’s excited rambling fade into white noise, Mondo stopped to consider the situation he was in, once again. He had a wonderful boyfriend- now fiance!- and a wonderful life to share with him. He had a dog, a nice house, a nice job…

 

Mondo wondered if Daiya would be proud of him.

 

…

 

Definitely. 

 

And for once in his life, when Mondo thought back to his brother… he smiled. He smiled because he knew, no matter what hardships he’d been through, his life was  _ perfect _ . And even though he didn’t have Daiya around anymore, Mondo knew that he was still watching over him.

 

So Mondo gripped Kiyotaka’s hands tighter, and stepped forward into their new life... together.


End file.
